An Assessment Of Butterfly Species Diversity In Relation To Plant Structure In Mt. Marsabit National Park, Kenya
Abstract
Forest-dependent animals, such as butterflies, can be useful indicators of forest
disturbance or stability. Butterfly assemblages decrease in species richness after forest
disturbance and fragmentation, but a few species may subsequently invade the forest
fragment and hence increase species richness. However, it is not clear how plant
community structure and changes in season affect the butterfly community. The purpose
of this study was to determine how the butterfly community changed in different habitats,
and how these changes were influenced by seasonality and human activities in Mt.
Marsabit National Park ecosystem, Kenya. The study was carried out over a period of 24
weeks, covering the dry period (December 2004 to February 2005) and wet period
(March - May 2005). Three belt transects were laid in the study area which were
-,' stratified into four main habitats. 200m transect walks were some on randomly selected
400 X 400m quadrats. Within the base transects, P.C.Q. method was used in vegetation
characterization. The rangeland habitat had the highest plant densities and diversities.
Citation
Nyamweya N. Humpden (2007). An Assessment Of Butterfly Species Diversity In Relation To Plant Structure In Mt. Marsabit National Park, Kenya. A thesis submitted to the School of Biological Sciences of the University of Nairobi in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Science in Biology of Conservation.Publisher
University of Nairobi School of Biological Sciences,